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Dr. Mutonya's Summer 2014 Travels

In May 2014, I was invited to give a talk at St. Lawrence University in New York. The three-day conference was organized as a joint commemoration of forty years of St. Lawrence University’s Semester Program in Kenya and the Republic of Kenya’s fiftieth anniversary of independence. My paper focused on the intersection of language and identity in preserving Kenya’s post-independence memory.

In the summer of 2014, I conducted a sociolinguistic survey in Nairobi high schools that seeks to measure the direction and magnitude of Sheng’s growth within a densely multilingual city. A hybrid language spoken predominantly by low- and middle-class youth, Sheng has emerged as a language of prestige in a city of three million residents and sixty languages. Previously stigmatized and highly innovative Sheng has emerged as a powerful tool for Kenyan youth who seek to construct a unique identity while navigating the complex social and linguistic space. Nairobi high school students are the paragons of Sheng innovation and change. In the course of my research, I was invited to appear on GBS Television Station’s Youth Show to discuss issues matters language growth, international education, study abroad, and the Kenya diaspora.